


That Love Business

by ravenslight



Series: Numbered Chances [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mostly Fluff, Muggle AU, Numbered Chances series, Seriously I love Theo, a tiny hint of smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 15:49:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20117620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenslight/pseuds/ravenslight
Summary: One time Hermione lets a confession slip. Theomione [Part 2 of the Numbered Chances series]. Muggle AU.





	That Love Business

**Author's Note:**

> LadyKenz347 posted a drabble challenge, wherein participants spun a wheel to get a character and then randomly were assigned a trope. My assigned character was Theo and my trope accidental confession. So here's a one-shot from the Numbered Chances series, which started with Independent Will and to which I'll be adding one-shots as the muse strikes. I can't seem to let go of this world. Please be gentle - this is the first thing I've written in nearly two weeks and I feel rusty. Neither alphaed or betaed, all mistakes are my own, and I own no part of the HP world. _ sobs _

**That Love Business**

“Theo, what was so bloody important that I drop everything and rush over here? I had to find someone to cover my shift last minute and… oh.” Hermione paused, the door to Theo’s flat thudding shut behind her. 

Candles covered every surface, the light floral aroma of jasmine blanketing the air. Amongst the candles, Theo had framed pictures of the two of them from the last year. When Theo rounded the corner of the kitchen with a bouquet of roses in his hands, her breath caught in her throat.

His smile lit up the room, and Theo approached her on silent feet. “Hi.” He brandished the flowers at her, the first sign of his nerves showing through as he dropped them on the entry table before gathering her into his arms. “The flowers are a bit much, aren’t they?” 

Hermione’s heart pounded in her ears as she draped her arms over his shoulders. “Well,” she started, her smile so wide it hurt her jaw. “It depends on what they’re for. Whose to say they aren’t just right?”

Theo blinked down at her, a blush staining the tips of his ears crimson. “It, um… well, you see—”

It was so endearing, even after a year, to see him so cautious around her, but Hermione raised up on her toes, stopping his stuttering with a sweet kiss to his lips, one that quickly turned heated. She tightened her grip on him, one hand sliding into his hair as the other slid along his jaw to cup over the stubbled that speckled it.

Too quickly, though, he pulled back after a nip of her lips. His gaze twinkled down at her. “You’re distracting me.” Theo backed out of her grip, accompanied by her noise of protest, but he trailed his hand down her arm and laced their fingers together. “Just… wait a bit. Please?” 

Slowly, he led her toward the table, on which he’d set up a lovely dinner and glasses her favorite wine. Hermione couldn’t focus on it, though, through the pounding of her heart and the shortness of her breath. Something about this moment felt significant in a way she hadn’t experienced before, and damn her if she couldn’t control the racing of her heart and the harsh exhales that forced their way past her lips as he helped her into the chair and slid it in.

When he settled across from her with a soft smile, Hermione swallowed her nerves long enough to take a drink of her wine.

“We’ve both been so busy, with you at work and me deciding to study for my graduate degree, that we haven’t had time to properly celebrate each other. Not like you’re meant to be celebrated.” He reached across the table and took her hand.

Hermione laced their fingers together, smiling up at him from beneath her lashes. How she had gotten so lucky to meet him, she’d never know. “How we’re meant to be celebrated. Not just me,” she corrected, then softly added, “Happy anniversary.” 

“Happy anniversary, love.” Theo picked his own glass up and tilted it at her, a silent toast to them. Hermione reciprocated, waiting for him to speak.

He took his time, first cutting into the filet that he’d cooked and taking a bite, savoring it as she did the same, though she kept cutting her gaze toward him. 

“It’s crazy that it’s been a year, isn’t it?” His question broke the silence between them, and Hermione nodded, unable to formulate words out of the thoughts that piled atop one another in her mind. Thankfully, though, Theo seemed to be determined to get his thoughts out, as he pushed onward, his cheeks colouring again. “You know, I was so nervous around you that I never stopped to consider what might come of talking to you that day at Cozy. I just knew that some girl had stolen my chair and was quoting a book that I knew.”

Hermione laughed, remembering it fondly as he continued talking. He’d looked so nervous, so wholly unsure of himself as he spoke to her, that she hadn’t been able to stop herself from continuing the conversation. Some part of her had known, even then, that there was something special about Theodore Nott.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while, but it seems like every time I think is a good time, something comes up.” He laughed into the wine glass he’d lifted up to swirl before him. “First when I burnt dinner on our six month anniversary and then that disastrous date at the museum. I’d think the universe was trying to tell me something if I wasn’t so sure of this.” He met her gaze across the table and held it. 

Even now, as he rambled on about the year they’d spent together, she couldn’t help but admire him. He was such a gentle soul, full of convictions and passion that still shook her to the core, and paired with his wicked humour, it often got him into trouble. But he set her soul aflame, and the words slipped passed her lips before she was conscious that she was even speaking.

“They say that everyone gets numbered chances to find the person they’re meant to be with. And it’s… it’s been a really good year with you and…” Theo drew in a deep breath, holding it a moment before it gusted out between them. “And I was hoping that, y’know, you might consider moving in with—”

“Theo, I love you.”

The room descended into silence with the clatter of Theo’s knife dropping to his plate, and Hermione stared at him with her mouth slightly agape. Oh, bugger, had she misjudged the situation.

It was a sentiment that she’d grown more and more sure of as time had passed, but neither of them had broached the subject, choosing instead to skirt it noncommittally. She’d come close, so bloody close so many times when he held her, or dropped her favorite lunch off at work, or twirled her around in the kitchen of his flat at two in the morning when they were both tipsy. Neither of them, however, had gotten the nerve to say it. Until now.

After a moment of the two staring at each other with wide, unblinking eyes, Hermione hastily pushed herself backward, embarrassment burning a hot trail down her throat and settling into her belly like a lead stone as she stared down at her forgotten dinner. Maybe if she just… played it off like she hadn’t said anything, he’d ignore the confession. “You want me to move in with you?” 

“You love me?” Awe laced Theo’s tone, and Hermione’s hopes that he hadn’t heard were dashed. 

“I mean, maybe it’s a bit too soon for that love business.” She cringed and closed her eyes on the longest blink she could manage, but suddenly, Theo’s chair scraped back, sound roared back to life, and he was gathering her into his arms again and pulling her into a bruising kiss.

Her arms acted of their own accord, snaking back around his neck, and she pillowed her lips against his, parting quickly when his tongue slipped along the seam and begged for entrance. When she responded in kind, his groan tore through her core and the warmth of her embarrassment was replaced with an altogether different warmth, so pleasant she thought she might combust if he stopped what he was doing with his tongue. When she slipped off the chair and into his lap, Theo broke the kiss with a gasp, pressing their foreheads together.

“You love me.” It wasn’t a question, and the conviction shining in his eyes stole her already short breath. 

Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to answer. 

Theo pulled back and took a shaky breath. Hermione’s heart faltered for the briefest moment, but the brilliant smile that lit up his face sent it back into overdrive. “The one chance I get to do something romantic first and you beat me to it." He huffed out a laugh and then whispered, "I love you too. So bloody much.”

Theo sealed his lips to hers again, pulling her tightly against him. When he divested her of her clothes and spread her out beneath him, she didn’t complain at the cold of the wooden floor against her back. As he worshipped her body with his own and murmured his praises and love to her, she didn’t hold back her exaltations of his name. And in the afterglow of their lovemaking, when he asked her to move in with him, she didn’t stop the tears of happiness from flooding down her cheeks as she nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for stopping by!


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